The following video has two important lessons you can take away from it. Watch first, and then I’ll tell you what those lessons are:

embedded by Embedded Video

YouTube DirectMaking guy friends

First, don’t bombard the poor dude with one question after another. If he turns down your first invite, just talk to him casually for a while before asking something else.

Second, there’s no such thing as having “all the bros you need.” It’s like having too much money.

Later,
-The Blog Dude

Did you know that you have a blog on the seekBromance site? You can also make comments in other members’ blogs (if the owner has allowed it). Even the popular dating sites don’t usually provide anything like this, but you guys deserve something more. The seekBromance site can do more than just show you pictures of guys you might want to be friends with. It supports a community of bros, too.

Once your bro-file gets approved, any member will be able to see what you put on your blog. The process is simple:

First, after you log in, click on the “Blog” link in the members’ menu, circled below.

You’ll see a blog control panel that resembles the one in this figure. In the beginning, of course, it won’t show any entries. You can start creating posts right away, or you can customize your blog title, comments, email alerts, and other settings.

Blog about your bromancing, your hobbies, current events, or basically anything else you want. There are only two rules you have to follow:

1)   Blog entries and comments have the same restrictions as bro-files. You can’t post anything that personally identifies you.

2)   When commenting on someone else’s blog, treat them with respect. It’s cool if you disagree with them, but you have to do it politely.

Have fun, dudes!

As I mentioned last time, I developed an “express” workout for building and maintaining my own muscle. It takes about 30 minutes to run through, and you can do it either in a gym or at home. Read on for the details.

First 2 or 3 minutes: Stretching. You’ll need to stretch both your arms and legs before getting started, if you want to maximize the benefit your muscles will get from this workout. Hold each stretch for about 10 seconds before relaxing. There are dozens of pre-workout stretches you can try: the link shows you some examples. Just pick a couple of your favorites.

Next 5 to 10 minutes: Cardio. This can be on a treadmill, a stationary bike, or even just running in place. Get your heart rate into the “workout” range, not the “weight loss” range, but don’t go full bore. This is not a full cardio workout. Instead, it will just raise your body temperature by 1 or 2 degrees. That’s the optimum level for building muscle.

Now that you’re properly tuned up, it’s time for the fun stuff.

Push-ups. You will do 2 or 3 sets, with each set having from 10 to 15 reps (repetitions). This is the classic push-up: your palms will be on the floor, spaced apart by about the same distance as the width from one of your shoulders to the other. Keep your back and legs absolutely straight – don’t let your butt sag – but don’t over-tense your muscles. Besides your palms, only your toes and the balls of your feet should touch the floor. It doesn’t matter whether you’re wearing shoes.

Go at a smooth pace: take at least 2 seconds to lower yourself and the same amount of time to come back up. Remember to rest for about 30 seconds between each set.

Bicep curls. Once again, 2 or 3 sets from 10 to 15 reps each. You can use a dumbbell in each hand, or you can use a fixed machine (such as a Nautilus or Bow-Flex) that supports this motion. Pick a weight that offers you a noticeable resistance, but not a ridiculous one that makes you strain without breathing. If you’re working out at home, consider investing in a set of dumbbells with adjustable weights, so that you can increase the weight as you improve.

Begin each curl by relaxing both arms at your side, and bring them up evenly until they’re level with your upper chest. Go at a smooth pace: take at least 2 seconds to raise the weights and the same amount of time to lower them back down. (Don’t just drop your arms!) Remember to rest for about 30 seconds between each set.

Sit-ups. Again, 2 or 3 sets from 10 to 15 reps each. You can do sit-ups unassisted, but you need to be careful to prevent injuries to your back. For more safety, you can use an ab roller or a seat with a flexible back, pictured below. In guys, the abdominal muscles tend to get very weak, especially as they get older, making them look fatter than they really are. So you should always make sure that a good ab workout is part of your routine.

And finally… Your muscles need time to recover between workouts. Therefore, don’t do this routine every day; stick with every other day. On “off” days, you can optionally do a longer cardio routine and leave it at that.

That’s it, bros. Stick to this routine, and in a few short weeks, you and your friends and family will start to notice a big difference. Have fun and enjoy the change!

Later,
-The Blog Dude

Hey dudes,

Happy New Year and all that stuff! I’m not going to ask you to adopt any resolutions this year because, mostly, I think they’re lame, and also nobody ever keeps them for more than a few weeks at most. So instead, I want you to think of bringing a compatible guy friend into your life as your New Year Mission for 2013!

Some of you might be reluctant because you think the whole mission thing sounds too much like work. Well, if all you do is put together a bro-file, and then sit back and wait for the most awesome bro alive to get in touch with you, the odds that it will happen are way too small to even think about. Even if every guy in the country were in the seekBromance database, your odds wouldn’t improve.

So yeah, the mission of finding a guy friend is work. That’s the bad news. The GOOD news is that it’s not difficult work and, if you’re efficient about how you use the search feature on the site, it doesn’t have to take much time, either. About 20 minutes online, once per week, should be all you really need.

Here’s how to be smart about searching the database: First, stick to your own state, and maybe the next state over, if you live close to the border. If you’re not familiar with the major cities and towns within 100 miles in every direction, break out Google maps and put together a list of them. Keep your search criteria as broad as you can when you start, and start selecting from the bro-file attributes only if you need to narrow down the number of results. Second, if you’re not already getting alerts from the Matchfinder emails, turn it on. This will get you bro-files for any new members who have signed up between the routine mailings. Just like with the regular search, keep the criteria broad at first, and narrow it down only if you need to.

That’s pretty much all there is to it. So get out there and start your mission, bro!

Good luck,
-The Blog Dude